Traditional knowledge

Traill says Indigenous rangers use a combination of traditional knowledge and the latest scientific knowledge.

"Traditional knowledge has the extraordinary depth of knowing for example that if you burn at a particular time of year you get a particular response from animal and plant species," says Traill, whose organisation supports Indigenous rangers.

But, he says western science, helicopters, four-wheel drives, GIS systems and guns are needed to effectively deal with more contemporary problems such as invasive weeds and feral animals.

Traill says early evidence suggests suggests Indigenous people are successfully managing the landscape in places like Arnhem Land, with anecdotal reports that emus are now making a comeback there.

He says, a reduction in uncontrolled fires in Aboriginal-managed lands is being picked up each year by satellite tracking and GIS mapping used to prove carbon offsets.

Weeds such as mimosa that are causing a problem in Kakadu National Park are also being reduced.

"The worst of these weeds have been kept completely out of the Arnhem Land Indigenous Protected Areas," says Traill.

He also says aerial shooting of feral water buffalo means numbers are lower than in areas that have no active management. Traill says this has rescued sensitive 'perched wetlands' that sit atop sandstone plateaus from being "mudbaths" for buffalo wallows.

Traill believes the government should boost funds to such programs, which are world-leading and could provide a model for other countries.

Part of nature

Professor Lesley Head, a human geographer who studies the interaction between Aboriginal people and the environment, agrees with Traill.

"A lot of conservation has assumed that we can remove ourselves from nature, but what is now very clear is that we are part of nature and we have to assume the responsibility that goes with that."

"Conservation doesn't means 'hands off'. It often requires us to be active participants," says Head, who works at the University of Wollongong.

Head also says controlling pests and weeds in outback Australia can be unpleasant work, that is hard to get people to do.

"Many of these are remote hostile areas where a lot of people who didn't have attachment to that country would just not be interested to work," she says.

Mixed report card

Dr David Bowman, professor of environmental change biology at the University of Tasmania agrees Indigenous local knowledge, bush skills and passion for country is an important part of the country's conservation strategy.

But he says there are challenges involved in integrating modern land management tools into Aboriginal land management.

"It's a long journey," he says, adding the evidence so far gives a "mixed report card".

Bowman and colleagues reported in the journal Environmental Management that Aboriginal-managed lands in Arnhem land had better fire and weed management, but more impacts from buffalo, compared to Kakadu National Park.

"On balance a reasonable person would conclude there are benefits for biodiversity, but for don't oversell the story," says Bowman.

Fringe benefits

Regardless of the state of evidence on biodiversity benefits from Aboriginal land management, Bowman and others say it's important to look at the issue holistically and not focus on narrow performance indicators.

In a Medical Journal of Australia study, he and colleagues found "caring for country" was associated with significant better health among Aboriginal people.

"You have to consider the fringe benefits of Aboriginal ranger programs," says Bowman.